Emison: I promise
by Emison Addict
Summary: Alison was Emily's first love - what happens when her thought to be deceased friend returns?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction so don't judge if it sucks haha**

**_Disclaimer:_ I own nothing. Unfortunately..**

**I'm going along with the current theme of the show, just changing some parts. Also going to incorporate Emison scenes used on the show.**

**Hope you enjoy. Follows and reviews (good or bad) will be much appreciated.**

_**Chapter one:**__** I miss you**_

*_thump thump thump*_

The rain hit hard against the bedroom windows.

Emily jolted up from her desk, startled, as she'd just experienced that horrendous feeling where you feel like you're suddenly falling. She rubbed her eyes and slumped back in her chair.

_"Fuck_" she grumbled, as realized just how long she had dozed off for.. She could've sworn she'd just closed her eyes for a few minutes.

_01:43_ - The time read as she unlocked her phone. She looked up at the blank screen of her laptop in front of her. She rubbed at her temples to try relieve the throbbing head ache that had been killing her all day.

She had an English assignment due that same day. _King Lear_. Shakespearean hogwash. She hadn't even finished reading the book, and of what she did read she could remember just about…well…nothing. "Why the hell did I leave this until the last moment?" she grumbled to herself; annoyed. There was no use now. It was far too late and she could barely keep her eyes open, not to mention the head ache that was getting worse by the minute. She needed to sleep. She would deal with the consequences later that day..

She shut down her laptop and went over to place the book on her bookshelf. She knelt down to the bottom shelf to find a gap for it; she shifted the books up and shoved it in. Upon doing so, her copy of _Charles Dickens'_ novel _Great_ _Expectations_ caught her eye, (well, technically it was the school library's..) She felt a lump at her throat and a knot formed in her stomach.

She pulled it out from the shelf and just stared at it. The cover was so faded and had embarrassingly big dogs' ears. Wear and tear from being handled and read so many times. Despite its shocking, delapidated appearance; it was one of her most cherished possessions. The pages were filled with Ali's scribbles and doodles; they couldn't not bring a smile to Emily's face..

She closed her eyes

- flashback -

She had just walked out of her math class and was walking across the hall to Ali's bio class. But when she peered inside, the blonde was no where in sight.

"Hey, where are you? Didn't you just have bio?" Emily texted her.

Emily continued down the hallway towards the cafeteria, assuming Ali had already gone off to meet up with the others for break. Before she'd reached it, her phone buzzed.

"Decided to blow bio off today. Wasn't in the mood for Mr. McConnell and plant science on a Monday morning lol. Been hiding out in the back of the library. Meet me here?"

Emily chuckled and shook her head, "Oh Ali Ali Ali".

"Haha, sure." Em texted back.

Moments later she was in the library looking for her friend. She started towards the back of the library, searching for Alison between the aisles of books. Then she heard Ali giggling from the next shelf ahead. There Ali was, on the floor by the third to last bookshelf, legs crossed, with her eyes fixated on a book. Emily stopped to lean against a shelf and smiled at the sight.

"What's so funny?" she asked grinning.

"Their names" Ali giggled back. "Pip, Mr. Whopsle, uncle Pumblechook; they all sound like stuffed animals."

Emily giggled, walked over to her, and sat down beside her.

"I can't believe you already finished it" Emily exclaimed.

Ali smiled widely and looked up at Emily. "Want me to tell you what happens? I can make you a cheat sheet.." She ran her hand through the brunette's hair flirtatiously, "You know, you should really let me braid your hair sometime."

Emily blushed a little and smiled shyly.

"I had a dream last night, about Jenna.."

"Emily _don't_," Alison cut her off mid-thought. Her smile faded and her face was now guilt-ridden. "okay stop thinking about that. There's all sorts of operations and stuff they can do." Ali responds sharply, almost trying to convince herself more than she was Emily.

Emily smiled brightly once more, "I dreamt that she came back, and she could see perfectly, and she forgave us" she poured out, staring deeply into ocean blue eyes.

Alison's smile returned, she couldn't believe the girl sitting in front of her was actually real. She was everything that was good in this world. Her heart; so kind, so loving. She admired her so..

She gazed adoringly into Emily's bright chocolate orbs, and in that moment became weak, "That's why I love you" she sighed, "you're big on happy endings.."

"So was _Dickens_, by the way" Ali stated, looking down at her book again. "Pip gets Estella in the end." her voice breaking ever so slightly at the end of her sentence.

"Can I read you something?" she asked sweetly, almost child-like.

With a soft smile, Emily nodded back at her lightly.

"_And I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness. Against all discouragement that could be."_ Her eyes kept alternating gazes between her book and then back into the brown eyes locked on her.

"Did you get to that part yet?" Ali asked.

With another slight nod, Emily leaned her face up to Ali's. Both smiled, as brown eyes locked with blue, for a moment, before Emily leaned over completely to plant a quick peck on Ali's lips. Alison's eyes fluttered closed at the contact. As the kiss broke, both girls smiled once more and Alison could feel her face flush.

She looked back down at the book, trying to hide her blushing cheeks. Her fingers working over the edges of the book.

Emily wasn't sure what to make of Ali's sudden silence. Had she just put her off? Did she freak her out? She too was looking down, her mind flooding with thoughts.

Ali was first to break the silence. Her sweet, soft tone from before, now back to its regular strong, confident tone.

"God, I'm starving. Let's go eat!" Ali ordered as she got back up on her feet. "Are you gonna come, or are you just going to sit there all day?" she asked looking down at Emily.

Emily broke from her daze and got up on her feet. She gave Ali an uneasy smile, unsure of how she may react next. Ali's moods changed so unexpectedly at times. One moment she would be so gentle and easy, and the next thing she'd be snapping at you. You never knew what she was truly feeling, because she was always so guarded. It was only on the rare ocassion, like that day in the library, that Emily felt she saw the real Ali. Like, her walls were down, if only for just a little while. Emily longed for those moments. She had noticed that it only ever happened when they were alone, which sort of made her happy in a way. That maybe Alison trusted her enough to lay down her guard? At least, she wanted to believe that..

"EMILY?" Alison spat out. "God, what is up with you today?"

Emily's face fell. "Nothing, just a little tired I guess.." she answers back softly, her hands fumbling.

Alison rolled her eyes and shoved the library's copy of Great Expectations into her bag.

"Aren't you going to check the book out before taking it? Emily asks as she walked up to Alison's side.

"Nah, it's mine now." she answered with a naughty smirk and a wink. "Now move your ass so we can eat before break ends."

Emily smiled again as Ali walked ahead of her towards the library's entrance.

"Oh Ali.." she whispered to herself again before following after her.

- flashback ends -

Emily, now positioned with her back against her bed, with her legs curled up and with the book pressed tightly against her chest; was in tears. The collar of her shirt - drenched from the pouring of her swollen, red eyes. Her throat so tight and nose so clogged up, that her breathing became deep and uneasy. She brought her head down between her legs and gave out a loud scream. The tears streaming from her eyes even more now.

"A-A-Al-l-l-iiii" "w-whyyy", she croaked out almost inaudibly.

You'd think that after all this time it would hurt a little less - losing Ali. But it didn't. Not a day would pass without something reminding her of the girl that stole her heart.

She remained there in that position, crying harder and harder as the time passed, until she eventually exhausted herself from crying and fell asleep; On the floor, with the book still cluched against her chest..

* * *

><p>"Emily? Emily, honey, wake up"<p>

With very little sleep after a difficult night, Emily finally became aware of her name being called out. Her eyes fluttered open and shut a few times; by the brightness that shone so uninvitedly into them, she realized it was morning.

"_Mmmm_" she gave out a groggy moan before shifting into a sitting position.

"Emily, sweetheart. You're going to be late for school", her mother knelt down beside her and caressed her daughter's arm. "Are you feeling okay?" she inquired softly.

"Hmm yeahh" Emily mumbled back, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes. "Just didn't sleep very well, that's all."

"Well I should think so if you slept on the floor all night", her mom responded jokingly. "You'd better get up if you still want to make it to school on time. I just made some pancakes for breakfast so hurry before they get cold." She brushed her daughter's hair back and planted a kiss on her forehead before getting up and walking out of the room.

Emily rubbed her eyes once more before getting up on her feet and making her way towards the bathroom, she threw off her clothes and hopped into the shower.

She showered as fast as she could possibly bring her exhausted self to, finished up in the bathroom and made her way back to her room. But not before banging her big toe on the cabinet in the hallway, "AHH FUCK! SHIT, FUCK, DAMMIT!" she cursed out. "I'm already so fucking done with today" she muttered, as she rubbed at her paining digit.

She threw on a pair of black yoga pants and matched it with a purple top and sneakers. It was a little nippy out, so she grabbed a hoodie from her closet and made her way downstairs.

With no time to sit down and eat breakfast, she just grabbed a plastic container and threw in three pancakes to munch along the way. She reached for an umbrella on her way out, as it was drizzling slightly and then made her way to her car.

She hopped in, took a huge bite of one of the pancakes, started the car and turned the radio up,

"But I never told you

What I should have said

No, I never told you

I just held it in"

The song lyrics brought on a sudden, sharp pang in Emily's chest..

"And now I miss everything about you

I can't believe it, I still want you

After all the things we've been through

I miss everything about you

Without you, whoa…"

"I see your blue eyes

Every time I close mine"

Tears started welling at her Emily's eyes..

"You make it hard to see

Where I belong to

When I'm not around you

It's like I'm not with me"

"But I never told you

What I should have sai-"

Emily changed the radio station, she couldn't listen to that song. The lyrics hit too close, ironically too close. And she didn't need a repetition of the previous night.

Thankfully she didn't live too far from school and made it into class just in the nick of time.

She plopped herself in her seat.

"Omg Em, there you are!" Hanna chirped from the seat next to hers. "We were thinking you weren't gonna pitch up. Did'ya sleep late or what?" she inquired perkily.

"Hmm, yeah. Overslept. Rough night.." Emily mumbled back zombie-ishly.

"Yeah I can tell. You look like hell, Em. Lol." Hanna responds as tactfully as ever. "Late night with Paige?" she smirked back with a wink.

"_No._" Emily reponded sharply. Her voice filled with very obvious annoyance.

"Well aren't you pleasant today.." Hanna cackled back in a taunting tone.

Emily shot her a dirty look and Hanna's eyes flickered down.

"Whateverrr" she muttered under her breath.

The lesson went by in silence. Emily nodded off to sleep minutes after her conversation with Hanna and thankfully Mrs. Paulson didn't notice her dozing away.

The sound of the bell woke her.

"PLEASE LEAVE YOUR ENGLISH ASSIGNMENTS IN A PILE ON MY DESK ON YOU WAY OUT, CLASS." Mrs. Paulson called out loudly.

"Awh fuck" Emily spat out. She had completely forgotten about that..

With no energy to argue, explain herself or to bargain with the teacher, Emily just decided to say nothing at all. She shuffled her way out with the rest of the class. If the teacher asked her where her assignment was, she would simply say she handed it in and it must've gotten lost somehow. By the time she'd get around to those papers, Emily will have actually done it and will just hand it in "again".

Emily walked down the hallway towards her locker.

"Guess who?" her eyes were covered by a pair of hands from behind her.

"Oh hey Paige.." she chirped.

She hadn't seen or spoken to Paige since the previous week, and was quite happy to hear her voice and see her adoring smile.

"Hi there stranger." Paige winked. She leaned in to give Emily a peck. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Paige. Sorry I've been so quiet…just have a lot on my mind lately" she smiled apologetically.

"Ahh don't worry 'bout it! I've been pretty busy myself. Would be nice having you around the pool again though." she nudged, smiling.

"Not likely to happen any time soon, or ever, for that matter. Not with the blow I got to my shoulder.." Emily responds, with an obvious sadness in her voice.

She loved to swim, and would have loved to make a career of it, too. But that was just one other thing that -A stole from her.

The bell rang again.

Emily kissed Paige good-bye and continued off to her next class, Chem.

* * *

><p>Still being an exhausted mess, Emily had no energy to participate and was once again falling asleep in the lab.<p>

_"Emily! Wake up!"_ she heard Spencer's voice spit out. "Will you go bring me two clean beakers, please? You don't need to help, just move around a little so it looks like you're actually doing something." she said annoyed.

"_Ugh_, fine" Emily snapped back, in no mood to argue.

Spencer had been so stressed out about school and college lately and she had a tendency to take her stress out on everyone else..

"_Here_" Emily muttered back and slumped back onto her stool.

"Hey Em, I'm sorry for snapping at you before. I'm just so stres-

"It's okay Spence" Emily stopped her mid sentence. "I've been a little snappish myself lately" she said laughing.

Spencer smiled back lightly. "Em, are you okay?"

"Yeah? Why do you ask?"

"I don't know-you just seem a little out of it.. You know I'm here if you need anything, right?" she responded, sounding genuinely concerned.

Emily smiled, "Thanx Spence, I know.."

"Now that you mention it, you wouldn't happen to have a book assignment on _King Lear_ for me? I kinda…didn't do mine." she inquired sheepishly.

"Of course" Spencer responds in a comforting tone. "Just tweak it here and there to make it seem less…me. And, more…you." she laughed and gave Emily's shoulder a squeeze.

"You're a life saver! I really owe you one" Emily smiled, relieved.

They finished off their class assignment and parted ways once class ended.

"See you at lunch" Spencer called out as she walked off to her next class.

Before Emily knew it, it was lunch time, thank God for that too as she was starving.

"Are you gonna finish that?" Hanna asked for the third time.

"Yes Hanna" Aria replied. For the third time.

"_Hmpff_" the blonde groaned.

Everyone laughed.

"WHAT?" she exclaimed.

"Lol, nothing Hanna" Emily reassured her. They all shared amused glances and finished their lunches.

* * *

><p>Soon enough the school day was over and Emily headed back home. She just wanted to sleep and wake up feeling normal again.<p>

She walked in through the front door and headed towards the staircase.

"Emily? Is that you? her mother called out from the kitchen.

"Yeah hey mom. I'm going to my room to rest."

"Just come here a sec, sweetie. I have a surprise for you" her mom called out again happily.

Emily walked into the kitchen and her face lit up.

"Daddy!" she shrieked excitedly.

She ran into his arms and he spun her around the room.

"Emmy, sweetheart." he said softly, giving her a tight squeeze. "Guess you missed your old man, huh?"

"Just a little" Emily responded cheekily.

"A little?" her dad raised his brow comically.

"Mhmm" she chuckled.

Surprise visits from her dad were honestly the best. It was hard with him being stationed out in Texas. She and her mom missed him terribly.

"I thought you weren't coming until next month?" Emily inquired.

"Yeahh that was the plan. But we'll have a lot going on next month, so they decided to move my visit up a month so I can be back by then."

"How long are you staying?"

"Five whole weeks!" her dad winked.

"YAY" Emily shrieked out wrapping her arms around her dad again. "This is so awesome!"

She had totally forgotten how tired she was and spent a good few hours downstairs with her mom and dad. It felt so good to catch up as a family. They ate dinner and exchanged stories and joked and laughed and everything felt perfect again.

After dinner she really had to get that sleep she so desperately needed. So she kissed her parents goodnight and excused herself to a much needed early night.

She collapsed back onto her bed and rolled over on her side. But the smile on her face soon faded when she looked over to her bed-side stand. She shifted up into a seated position against the head board and reached for the photo frame on the stand.

It was a picture of herself and Ali, taken a few months before she disappeared; a year and eight months prior.

She brushed over the picture with her thumb and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I miss you so much…" she whispered, staring at the blonde girl in the photo. She was so perfect. Ali.. Even with all her faults and flaws she was still perfect in Emily's eyes. There wasn't a day that went by that Emily didn't miss Ali or didn't think about her. She would've given anything if it could mean she could have her back. But alas..

Emily was soon asleep, photo frame still in hand.


	2. Chapter 2

**June 1st 2006**

"Emmy, were almost there." her dad called out from the driver's seat. Emily eyes fluttered open at the sound of his voice, she forced a smile and sat upright in the back seat. Her parents seemed so excited to move back to this _Rosewood_ place, she...not so much. They were already discussing their new life, new home, Emily's new school - but her mind was still stuck in Texas. She had a fixed nature, so this sudden and drastic change was hard on her. They had lived in Rosewood before, she was born there, actually. But they moved to Texas when she was three, to be closer to where her dad was stationed. Having an introverted, shy personality; she didn't connect with people very easily. She was always very liked, but prefered to shy away from most. She has two really good friends back in Texas but apart from that she kept to herself. Knowing her difficulty to get close to people, Emily was upset - as she knew she'd have no friends.. She curled her legs underneath her and gazed at the scenary as they drove up the highway.

"You're going to love it in Rosewood, Emily" her mom said with a comforting smile. Emily nodded dejectedly, forcing a smile. She didn't want her parents to feel guilty, as they were so excited to move back home. She would just make the most of it. The entire area leading up to Rosewood was surrounded by forest. The prospect of camping with her dad was something she could look forward to, depending how long he could stay.. They drove on for about 15 more minutes when they reached the town sign of Rosewood, population 7989...well now 7992. Emily let out a deep sigh.

"This is it, guys!" her dad exclaimed, pulling into the drive way of the grey-paneled house. It seemed pleasant enough, Emily had to admit, and it was bigger and a lot fancier than their house back in Texas. Emily reclined on the large tree in the front yard while her dad removed a few suitcases they'd brought with. "Rest of our stuff will only get here later with the moving truck," her mom said.

"What do you think, baby?" her dad asked, motioning at the house. Emily responded with a weak smile and light nod of approval. He pulled her in for a comforting hug, "It will be okay, Emmy. As soon as you get used to it, you'll love it here" he reassured her.

Emily forced a smile, "I know, dad" she responded in a put-on chirpy tone. He kissed her forehead and continued towards the house with their bags. The inside of the house was as pleasant as its exterior suggested. It had a warm, homey feel to it and as soon as their old stuff would be brought to fill it, she would feel a little more at home, she thought to herself. "Want to see your room, honey?" her mom asked, trying to cheer her daughter up, as she could see how hard she was taking the change. Emily nodded, "Yeah sure!"

Her room was awesome, she thought. It was bigger than her old one and had much more light shining in, making it warm and bright. The best part was the window seat that overlooked the street.

After an hour or so of sitting on the front porch playing snake on her dad's cellphone, she grew bored and restless. All her belongings were in the moving truck that hadn't arrived yet and so she had nothing to keep herself occupied. She gave the phone back to her dad and asked if she could walk around the nearby neighborhood a little.

"Okay, but don't go too far. Stay on our street, okay?"

"Okay, dad."

"Wayne," her mom interrupted, "do you think it's safe letting her walk around alone? On the first day?"

"You couldn't find a place safer than Rosewood!" he reminded her. She gave an agreeable nod and caressed Emily's head. "Don't get lost now."

"I won't" Emily called out as she walked away.

The house was long out of sight when she reached the end of their street. She made note of it to remember the street name before turning the corner, against her parents' wishes. She was bored and inquisitive over the new surroundings, and besides, it wasn't like she'd forget her way back. Reaching the end of the next street, she turned another corner, and soon another, and another. Just across the street ahead, she spotted a large playground built in soft sand. It was completely empty and Emily was put at ease by that, she made her way towards the swings and sat in one.

Swinging softly while running her feet through the warm sand, she forgot about the world around her.

It was around fifteen minutes later, that three boys around the same age as Emily appeared on the playground - clearly looking for trouble. She didn't notice them until they came right up to her and tugged her swing sideways, making her break from her day-dreaming. "And what do you think you're doing on _my_ swing?" the one boy asked harshly. Emily stared at him, unresponsive. "Well?!" he barked again. There were another five open swings he and his friends could use and Emily looked around at them suggestively.

"Why don't you just swing on one of the others?" she asked timidly.

The boy didn't actually care for _that_ particular swing, not any of them for that matter. They had been walking through the neighborhood searching for mischief, and unfortunately Emily posed as a splendid target.

All of a sudden, the other two boys came from behind in attempts to pull her off - succeeding as such. Emily fell back on the sand, head first. The boys found it extremely amusing and began laughing and pointing fingers at the girl huddled on the ground, crying.

"Michael? What are you doing?"

The three boys turned around and Emily looked up too. Behind them stood a little girl with long blonde hair, dressed in a floral summer dress. She glanced over towards Emily, who she could see looked unhappy and possibly crying - then back at the boys.

She crossed her arms over the music notebook she was holding and scolded at them with her eyes. "Picking on a girl? Seriously, Michael?" she began. "Does it make you feel all cool and tough in front of your friends? Maybe, I should tell them about what happened at my hou-"

"_SHUT UP ALISON_!" the boy shouted, his face turning a deep shade of pink.

She smiled a wicked smile, "Good, so get lost. And if I see you picking on _her_ or any other girl, just know that I'll be telling everyone at school about your _little secret_." A nervous look was plastered on his face. Alison's threat was enough to make him want to get away as fast as he could, and soon he and his minions were running off. Alison watched smugly as they disappeared from sight.

"Are you okay?" Alison asked, holding her hand out to Emily. Emily accepted the gesture, dusting herself off once up on her feet.

"He won't bother you again," Alison said, smirking. "His mom and mine are friends, so around two weeks ago our moms went to some fancy event together and Michael had to spend the evening over at our house." Alison started laughing. "Woke up in the morning and he'd peed his bed, soaked. So unless he wants the whole school to know that he's a bed-wetter, he'll think again before bugging you again."

Emily stood silently in awe, staring at the blonde while she talked on and on. She seemed so confident and strong and proud - everything Emily was not. "Your face doesn't seem familiar.." Alison inquired, "you're new around here, right?"

Emily nodded shyly.

Alison laughed, "you don't say much, huh?"

Emily shrugged lightly and looked down, working her foot through the sand in a circular motion.

"Guess I'll be going then.." Alison said sarcastically, a little offended by the brunette's stand-offish behavior. Emily watched as the girl walked towards a pathway that led away from the playground. _Why was she so stupid around other people?_ she thought.

"Wait" Emily yelled out, just as Alison was about to disappear from sight. Alison stopped and turned around to see Emily running towards her.

"Thank you" Emily blurted out, trying not to make eye contact with the girl in front of her.

Alison smiled widely. Emily looked up and returned a shy smile. "You're weird," Alison laughed.

Emily's face fell...she knew she was.

"But I like you! I'm Alison by the way, or Ali for short."

_I like you_ the words made Emily's face light up. The blonde seemed like someone that would never even associate with someone like her, she was so... _perfect_.

"I'm Emily." she responded a little too eagerly.

Alison laughed, "so weird.."

She turned around and continued walking. Emily's smile faded.. _That's it? She's leaving.. well done Emily. You managed to scare her off with your weirdness. So stupi-_"

"Hey! You coming or what?" Alison called out.

They walked along for a good while, Alison rambled on and on, telling all sorts of tales, while Emily listened silently. She was completely captivated.

"Why are you so quiet? You're not still worked up over those idiots, are you? Because I promise you they won't dare bother you again. My dad always tells me that you don't fight with your hands, you do it with your brains. Like this one time, at my grandma's, she lives on this farm - it's awful, I hate it there. But yeah, so last Summer we went to visit her there. So one day I was sitting under a tree being bored, and Jason - my brother, was driving his four-wheeler around the back yard. My grandma's ugly old cat was lying on the ground and Jason didn't see him and drove right over his head. It was so gross. He didn't know I saw. So he took it and buried it out in some tall grassy area. Afterwards, I told him that I saw what he did, and if he wanted me to keep his secret, he'd have to do whatever I wanted him to. So now he does all my chores." Alison winked.

Emily stared at her, a little horrified, but still in awe of Alison's power. She was incredible.

They reached the end of the path way and Emily realized that by going this different route, she had no idea how to get home.

"Where do you live? Maybe I know where it is.." Alison asked.

"43 Serenity Lane."

Alison thought for a moment, "Nah, doesn't sound familiar. Come to my house and I'll ask my mom to drive you home."

"Wow thanks."

Alison shrugged, "That's what friends are for."

Emily was thrown back by that. _Friends? Alison already thought of her as a friend?_ She looked down, smiling. She'd already made a friend, on her first day. And with someone as amazing as Alison.

When they reached Alison's house, her mom was covered in dirt, working on her rose garden.

"Mom, this is my new friend, Emily." Alison announced, pulling Emily forward by her arm to show her off.

"Hello Emily." her mom said sweetly. "Are you new in town?"

Emily nodded shyly.

"Aww lovely. You're going to love it here," she proclaimed, "and of course, you are welcome here anytime."

Alison cut in, "Mom, can you drive Emily home? She forgot the way. Serenity Lane, right?" she turned to ask Emily. Emily nodded.

Her mom agreed with no problem, just as soon as she'd finish in the yard and get cleaned up. Alison poured Emily and herself a glass of lemonade, then guided Emily to the living room to watch cartoons.

"Wait here!" Alison commanded after a few minutes, before running upstairs.

15 minutes later, Emily was still waiting for Alison to return. Wondering where she had disappeared to, Emily began to think that maybe Alison had already grown bored of her. She let out a deep sigh and sunk into the corner of the couch.

"_HERE!_" Alison said loudly, appearing suddenly with a pink envelope that had Emily's name written on it with colorful glitter glue. Emily took it and looked back up at Alison with questioning eyes.

"It's an invitation to my Birthday next week. You'll come, right?"

A huge smile spread across Emily's face and she nodded in affirmation.

An hour later, Alison's mom was driving them off to Serenity Lane to take Emily home. The girls sat in the back seat, laughing and singing along to songs on Alison's ipod. Emily was a particularly awful singer, and Alison found it hilarious, especially when Em attempted the really high notes. In their own world, they didn't even realize the car had stopped in front of Emily's house. Alison's mom sat silently for a moment, smiling at them adoringly before announcing that they'd arrived.

Emily stood on her front porch, waving frantically with a huge smile plastered on her face. From the car window, Alison waved back softly, giggling at the silly girl in front of her.

"What a sweet girl, I like her." Mrs. DiLaurentis said, while driving back home.

"She's really weird." Alison chuckled. "I like her too."


End file.
